Squeegee nozzle for wet pickup suction cleaner



3,520,012 SQUEEGEE uozzm ron WET PICKUP SUCTION CLEANER Filed Feb. 20, 1958 July14, 1970 s. F. CARABET ET AL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 14, 1970 G, F. CARABET ET AL 3,520,012

SQUEEGEE NOZZLE FOR WET PICKUP SUCTION CLEANER Filed Feb. 20, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 4

United States Patent 3,520,012 SQUEEGEE NOZZLE FOR WET PICKUP SUCTION CLEANER George F. Carabet and Louis E. Segesman, North Cautou, Ohio, assignors to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 20, 1968, Ser. No. 706,949 Int. Cl. A47] 9/02 US. Cl. -402 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A squeegee nozzle for a wet pickup suction cleaner has a one-piece elastomeric squeegee member including a perforated top web and integral lips. A rigid mounting member positioned between the lips is attached to the inlet mouth of a nozzle and traps the squeegee web. The squeegee lips have bumps along their outer bottom edges. The squeegee web has dams around the perforations to keep water from draining back onto a floor. The squeegee lips have flanges on their outer faces for positioning against the bottom edges of the nozzle. The mounting member may be easily detachable and have numerous small perforations so it acts as a filter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the art of floor cleaning in which water used to scrub a floor is picked up with a flexible squeegee nozzle connected to a suction cleaner.

Prior squeegee nozzles include two separate flexible squeegee lips which are individually secured to the nozzle member in spaced-apart relationship. Having the two squeegee lips formed integrally in such a manner that they can be mounted simultaneously to the nozzle member greatly simplifies manufacturing and assembly. When air and liquid flow through the nozzle member some liquid collects on the inside walls of the nozzle member. When the air flow is stopped this liquid runs back through the squeegee onto the floor and leaves a spot. Prior squeegee nozzles have not prevented this collected liquid from dripping back onto the floor.

Prior squeegee lips had vertical grooves formed in their outer faces to allow liquid and air to flow beneath the leading lips into the nozzle. The grooves have been formed in a squeegee lip of full thickness which inhibits flexing of the lip for best wiping action. The present invention corrects this deficiency. Squeegee lips must be secured to a nozzle member in such a manner that the wiping edge is not wavy or uneven. The present invention accomplishes this in a much simplified manner. Lint and like material flowing into a wet pickup suction cleaner collects in the fan chamber or in the air-water separator, and destroys the efficiency and good performance of the entire machine. The present invention provides means for filtering out a good deal of this lint by using the same member which secures the squeegee to the nozzle as a filter.

SUMMARY This invention comprises a one-piece squeegee member for a wet pickup squeegee nozzle connected to a suction cleaner. The squeegee is made of elastomeric material and includes two squeegee lips connected by a perforated web. The squeegee is positioned inside the walls of a nozzle member and the web is trapped between abutment means on the nozzle member and a rigid mounting member which is secured to the nozzle member. The squeegee lips project below the walls of the nozzle member in parallel, spaced-apart relationship at substantially right angles to the web. The rigid mounting member may have a 3,520,012 Patented July 14, 1970 ice plurality of small holes in it rather than large slots so that it acts as a filter for lint and the like.

The squeegee web includes upstanding walls around the perforations which act as dams to keep liquid from dripping back through the squeegee onto the floor when the suction is turned off. The squeegee lips have a spacedapart bumps on the outside faces at their bottom edges. The bumps raise the leading squeegee lips to allow air and liquid to flow beneath the lip between bumps. Forming the bumps only at the bottom face leaves a thin upper section on the lip for better flexibility and wiping action.

The squeegee lips include flanges on their outer faces parallel to the bottom lip edges. These flanges are positioned against the bottom edges of front and rear walls on the nozzle member to keep the lip edges straight and even.

The squeegee member has large masses of flexible material at its ends to keep the squeegee sufficiently rigid for good wiping action along its full length while permitting some flexing to prevent scratches to walls and baseboard moldings. The rigid mounting member positioned inside the squeegee lips may be attached to the nozzle by quick release means for easy cleaning.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a view of a conventional wet pickup-type suction cleaner having the squeegee nozzle of this invention connected to it.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective View of the squeegee nozzle of this invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional elevational view taken on line- 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a sectional elevational view taken in the direction of arrows 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional elevational view looking in the direction of arrows 44 of FIG. 3 and showing a quick-release securing means for the squeegee mounting member.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional elevational view looking in the direction of arrows 44 of FIG. 3 and showing an alternative arrangement with a separate removable filter.

FIG. 7 is a perspective end view looking in the direction of arrows 7-7 of FIG. 6 and with portions removed for clarity of illustration.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a conventional wet pickup suction cleaner 1 having nozzle member or suction head 2 connected to it by a flexible hose 3. Suction head 2 has a horizontally elongated inlet opening defined by parallel spaced-apart front and rear walls 4 and 5. Above the bottom edges of front and rear walls 4 and 5 the inlet opening of suction head 2 has spaced securing and abutment means 6, 7 and 8 therein as shown in FIGS. 2, 4, 5 and 6.

A squeegee member 9 of rubber or other elastomeric material is molded integrally in one piece and includes front and rear lips 10 and 11, and top web 12. Web 12 has a plurality of perforations therein as at 13, 14, 15 and 16 through which air and liquid may pass. Holes 17, 18 and 19 in web 12 are for passing screws 20, 21 and 22.

A rigid steel channel member defines a mounting member 23 and has a body portion 24 and legs 25 and 26. The channel may be zinc coated to resist corrosion and could be of rigid synthetic plastic material. Body portion 24 has a plurality of holes throughout its length only two of which are referenced by numerals 27 and 28. These holes may be one-eighth inch in diameter and spaced one-tenth inch apart. Mounting member 23 is positioned between squeegee lips 10 and 11 with legs 25 and 26 extending upwardly. Screws 20-22 are then placed hrough the holes in body portion 24, through holes 17-19 in web 12, and into securing and abutment means 68. Web 12 is then held trapped between the edges of legs 25 and 26, and the bottom surfaces of securing and abturnent means 68.

The outside faces of squeegee lips 10 and 11 each have a longitudinal flange 29 and 30. The distance from the top surfaces of flanges 29 and 30 to the top of web 12 around holes 17-19 is slightly less than the distance from the bottom edges of walls 4 and to the undersurface of securing and abutment means 68. This insures that the top surfaces of flanges 29 and 30 will be tightly positioned against the bottom edges of walls 4 and 5 as shown in FIG. 3 and accurately locates lips and 11 so their bottom edges will be straight and even. Body portion 24 of channel 23 is positioned near the plane of the botom edges of walls 4 and 5 .as shown in FIG. 3.

Web 12 has upstanding walls 31-34 defining dams surrounding performations 13-16. Dams 31-34 are spaced inwardly from the longitudinal edges of web 12 as shown in FIG. 3. When suction cleaner 1 is operating some moisture collects on the inner wall surfaces of suction head 2 and hose 3. When suction cleaner 1 is turned off this moisture tends to flow back out onto the floor by gravity. Raised dams 31-34 provide a collecting reservoir for this moisture as shown at W in FIG. 3 so it cannot run back out onto a floor through perforations 13-16 in web 12.

Lips 10 and 11 of squeegee 9 have spaced bumps on their outer faces throughout their length adjacent their bottom edges as shown in FIG. 2 and only two of which are referenced by numerals 35 and 36 in FIG. 3. -The squeegee lip leading the direction of movement of suction head 2 bends backward and raises up on the bumps as shown by lip 10 in FIG. 3. This permits air and liquid to flow beneath lip 10 through the spaces between bumps. The trailing lip bends out and cleanly wipes the floor with its inside straight edge to keep liquid in the high suction area between lips 10 and 11.

The bumps are formed only adjacent the bottom edges of lips 10 and 11 so that there is a relatively thin crosssection of lip between bumps 35 and 36, and flanges 29 and 30 as shown in FIG. 3. This provides a highly flexible thin section in the bending area for good wiping action of the trailing lip and to insure the leading lip bends sufficiently to raise up on the bumps.

The end portions of squeegee 9 have large masses of material formed integrally therewith as shown at 37 in FIGS. 4 and 5, and at 38 in FIG. 6. These masses may extend from web 12 down to flanges 29 and 30, and from the ends of squeegee 9 inwardly at least to the ends of walls 4 and 5 and preferably inside of walls 4 and 5 slightly as shown. These masses 37 and 38 rigidify the ends of squeegee 9 sufficiently to provide good action of lips 10 and 11 at their ends while permitting some flexibility to avoid scratching walls or baseboard moldings. These masses 37 and 38 are effective extensions for pickup close to walls without danger of scratching by the ends of suction head 2 or by mounting member 23 if theat member were extended beyond the ends of walls 4 and 5 in the absence of masses 37 and 38.

Instead of screws 20-22 for securing squeegee 9 to suction head 2 with mounting member 23, there may be quick release fasteners used as shown in FIG. 5. Spring steel members 39 and 40 may be welded or otherwise secured to the inside top wall of suction head 2 at each end. Bulges 41 and 42 are formed at the bottom ends of members 39 and 40. When mounting member 23 is pushed upward with a hole 27 or 28 aligned with members 39 and 40 there is a camming action between the hole and bulges 41 and 42 causing members 39 and 40 to move toward one another. This allows bulges 41 and 42 to pass through the hole, whereupon members 39 and 40 spring outward to hold mounting member 23 above bulges 41 and 42 until a downward force is applied to mounting member 23 for the same action in removal. It will be understood that members 39 and 40 could be attached to mounting member 23 with bulges 41 and 42 passing through holes in suction head 2 for the same type of quick release fastening. It is to be understood that when the words securing means are used they include any of these arrangements disclosed as well as equivalents thereof.

Mounting member 23 may be reversed with its body against web 12 and its legs extending downward as shown by modified mounting member 43 in FIGS. 6 and 7. Legs 44- and 45 have their ends reversely bent as shown in FIG. 7 to form a slideway for a filter strip 46. Filter strip 46 may be preforated as shown, or may be a screenlike member. Filter strip 46 is slidable longitudinally into the slideway formed by the reversely bent ends of legs 44 and 45. Filter strip may have one end bent downward as at 47 in FIG. 6. Filter strip 46 extends the full length of mounting member 43 and end 47 is positioned as shown in FIG. 6 when filter strip 46 is fully in place. End 47 may be grasped in a persons fingers to slide filter strip 46 out for easy cleaning of lint and the like caught on the solid portions between perforations.

Positioning mounting member 23 with legs 25 and 26 up as shown in FIG. 3 places body 24 near the plane of the bottom edges of walls 4 and 5 permits access to body 24 with a small brush or .a persons fingers to clean lint and the like off on the device when a quick detachable mounting or separate filter strip is not used.

It will be understood that the disclosed structure is for illustrative purposes only and is not to be taken in a limiting sense. The present invention includes all equivalent variations of the disclosed structure and is limited only by the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a wet pickup suction cleaner nozzle,

(a) a suction head,

(b) a horizontal elongated inlet opening in said suction head, said opening having front and rear walls,

(c) securing means on said head in said opening,

(d) abutment means on said head in said opening,

(e) an elongated one-piece elastomeric squeegee member secured in said opening,

(f) said squeegee having a central mounting web portion, said mounting web portion being perforated along substantially its entire length so that air and moisture may flow through said perforated web into said inlet opening in said suction head along substantially the entire length of said squeegee,

(g) a pair of squeegee lips formed integrally with and projecting from opposite sides of said web portion,

(h) an elongated substantially rigid mounting member attached to said securing means and trapping said web portion between said abutment means and said mounting member,

(i) the top portion of one of said lips being trapped between said front wall and said mounting member in substantially right angular relationship to said web portion and the top portion of the other of said lips being trapped between said rear wall and said mounting member in substantially right angular relationship to said web portion.

(j) the bottom portions of said lips being in spaced apart parallel relationship and projecting downwardly below the bottom edges of said front and rear walls,

(k) said mounting member being constructed for passage of air and moisture therepast to said perforated web and (1) said mounting member having a channel-shaped, cross-section including a body and legs extending at substantially right angles to said body, the edges of said legs being positioned against said squeegee web portion and said body being adjacent the bottom edges of said front and rear walls.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein said squeegee lips have a plurality of integral, longitudinally spaced-apart protrusions projecting outwardly from their outer faces adjacent their bottom edges.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said perforated web has upstanding wall means surounding the perforations therein to define dams, said dams being spaced inwardly from the elongated edges of said web portion.

4. The device of claim 3 wherein said squeegee lips each have an elongated flange projecting outwardly from their outer faces, said flanges being parallel to and spaced above the bottom edges of said lips, said flanges being in contact with the bottom edges of said front and rear walls, the distance between said abutment means and the bottom edges of said front and rear walls being greater than the distance between said web and the top of said flanges.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein said front and rear walls of said inlet opening on said suction head have end edges and said squeegee has end portions defined by portions of said lips and said web, said end portions of said squeegee projecting outwardly beyond said end edges of said front and rear walls.

6. In a wet pickup suction cleaner nozzle having an elongated inlet opening defined by front and rear walls in spaced-apart, side'by-side relation, the improvement comprising:

elongated elastomeric squeegee means carried by said nozzle and providing a pair of squeegee lips adjacent to and generally coextensive with respective nozzle front and rear walls aforesaid and said lips projecting beyond said nozzle walls and terminating in marginal portions for engagement with a surface from which liquid is to be picked up,

the outwardly facing sides of the marginal portions of said squeegee lips having a series of integral, longitudinally spaced-apart protrusions which thicken and thus strengthen said marginal portions against distortion and said protrusions being spaced from respective nozzle walls to provide unthickened intermediate squeegee lip portions adjacent respective nozzle walls which are longitudinally flexible.

7. The construction of claim 6 wherein said squeegee means comprises an elongated, elastomeric squeegee member having an elongated web portion and elongated, spaced-apart flange portions projecting transversely of said web portion and in side-by-side relation from respective, elongated edges of said web portion to form respective squeegee lips, and

wherein said squeegee member is associated with said nozzle with said member web portion, disposed therewithin and between said nozzle front and rear walls.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein said squeegee lips each have an elongated flange projecting outwardly from their outer faces, said flanges being parallel to and spaced above the bottom edges of said lips, said flanges being in contact with the bottom edges of said front and rear walls, the distance between said abutment means and the bottom edges of said front and rear walls being greater than the distance between said web and the top of said flanges.

9. The device of claim 7 wherein said squeegee has its ends projecting beyond the ends of said front and rear walls, said squeegee having its ends rigidified by integral masses of elastomeric material extending from the ends of said squeegee at least to the ends of said front and rear walls and from said web to the bottom edges of said front and rear walls.

10. In a wet pickup suction cleaner nozzle having an elongated inlet opening defined by front and rear walls in spacedapart, side-by-side relation, the improvement comprising;

an elongated, elastomeric squeegee member having an elongated web portion and elongated, spaced-apart flange portions projecting transversely of said web portion and in side-by-side relation from respective, elongated edges of said web portion to form respective squeegee lips,

said squeegee member being associated with said nozzle with said member web portion disposed within said nozzle and with said member flange portions adjacent to and projecting beyond respective nozzle walls aforesaid and terminating in marginal portions for engagement with a surface from which a liquid is to be picked up,

said squeegee member web being apertured to provide for flow of air and moisture therepast and said web aperture being circumscribed by a wall extending from said member web portion in a direction opposite that of said member flange portions thereby forming a dam which prevents flow of liquid from the interior of said nozzle through said web aperture when suc tion through said nozzle is terminated.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 5/1954 Parry 15402 2/1958 Pettit et a1. 15401 X ROBERT W. MICHELL, Primary Examiner 

